Senate Hopefuls Face Off in S.C. Primary

[CShine]

A crowd of South Carolina Republicans jostled on Tuesday for the nomination for the seat left open by the retirement of Democratic Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings — one of five in the South that will be among the most closely watched Senate races come the fall. In primaries elsewhere, a seven-term Democratic Virginia congressman with a history of controversies faced a contentious challenge, while Montana's open governor's seat brought a sharp philosophical fight to the state GOP.

In all, seven states held primaries Tuesday, including Iowa, Maine, New Jersey and North Dakota. Most saw noncompetitive primaries, with scant or no challenges for each parties' candidates for Congress or governor, and the real contest waiting until the fall general election.

Not in South Carolina. When Hollings announced his retirement after nearly four decades, it set off a GOP scramble. Six candidates — including three-term Rep. Jim DeMint, former Gov. David Beasley and former Attorney General Charlie Condon — jumped for the chance. In a state that has grown increasingly more Republican, the opportunity seemed clear. Beasley quickly became the front-runner, but opponents who helped defeat him in 1998 after one term as governor dogged his latest campaign, criticizing his efforts to lower the Confederate flag and ban video poker when he was in office.

The state's often fractious Democrats united behind Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum, who portrayed herself as an independent-minded figure and emphasized votes she has gotten from both Republicans and Democrats.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=548&ncid=696&e=8&u=/ap/20040608/ap_on_el_ge/primary_rdp

[4_Legs_Good]

1. Any chance Tenenbaum will win?

How many seats will we be picking up in 2004? How many are we losing?

david